Bubonic plague: a type of plague passed by fleas and rats. This was one of the two plagues that made up the Black Death. The name comes from the buboes or swellings that occurred under a victim’s armpits and at the top of his thighs.
Pneumonic plague: The second of the types of plague that made up the Black Death. A fatal disease, it was passed by breathing and sneezing. It is pronounced ‘newmonic’.
Trade routes: The routes taken by ships, from port to port, as people who bought goods in one country and sold them in another (traders) travelled between these countries.
Flagellation:the practice, used during the Black Death, of whipping oneself (or someone else) as a punishment to free oneself from the sins the flagellant thinks he may have committed. By freeing himself from sin a man may avoid being sent to hell or suffer another of God’s punishments such as being given the plague.
One Hundred Years’ War: A war between England and France fought, on and off, between 1337 and 1453. The countries were fighting over who should control substantial parts of what is now modern-day France.
Population: The number of people who live in a particular place. We usually look at the population of a country as a whole.
Statute of labourers: A law passed in 1351 which tried to change where people worked, who they worked for and how much they were paid back to the level of 1347, the year before the Black Death.
Landlord: A man who owns land (often a substantial amount of land) and allows other people to use that land in return either for money (renting) or for them working for him (a labour service).
Commutation: Instead of doing a particular piece of work for a landlord (such as guard duty or fixing a road) a peasant may wish to make a payment so that he can spend that time working on his own land. This payment is known as a commutation or we say that a service has been commuted.
Peasant: This is often used as a general name to describe a poor farmer who lived during the Middle Ages. Strictly speaking, it refers to someone who produces enough food from his own land for himself and his family and no more.
Illiterate: Someone who is unable to read or write. This was a particular worry during the Black Death because a large number of men who were illiterate became priests. It is difficult to imagine how someone who was illiterate could understand the Bible, which was in Latin, and so help those who attended church worship God.
Fasting: To go without food, often in an effort to free oneself from sin and so avoid being punished by God.
Last rites: The words that are said, usually by a priest, shortly before someone dies. The aim is to free someone from their sins so that they can go to Heaven.